Cranberries - the new raisin?

Are cranberries the new raisins?


I know they're not new, but it seems like lately they're popping up everywhere. Maybe it has to do with the impending Fall season? I'm sure the California Raisin board is fuming now that the Cranberry Council has stepped up their game! Okay, I don't know if there's really a National Cranberry Council but when I searched, I did find several statewide cranberry councils! That must be fun, sitting around tasting cranberries all day, talking and writing about them. What else could they possibly do?

Recently, I've tried oatmeal/cranberry cookies, white chocolate/macadamia/cranberry chip cookies, Cranberry Morning cereal. And I've got my eye on some trail mix with almonds, granola, sunflower seeds, and cranberries in place of raisins. Cranberries taste wonderful both dried and fresh, and even in juice blends. Why did I just have a vision of a turkey wrap with hot mustard and dried cranberries inside? I must be hungry, except I'm not.

Let's compare about a serving of each:

Raisins - 299 calories, 0g fat, 0g cholesterol, 11g sodium, 79g carbs, 4g fiber, 59g sugars. Your biggest boosts with raisins are in calcium, magnesium, and potassium, although that high level of natural sugars may wreak havoc with your diet if you're trying to avoid sugar. Although natural, it will still give your blood sugar a rush!

Cranberries - 308 calories, 1g fat, 0g cholesterol, 3g sodium, 82g carbs, 6g fiber, 65 sugars. Not a huge source of any necessary minerals, but it does have one thing that raisins don't - Lutein, a beta carotene that seems to be popping up as an added benefit of a lot of vitamins and supplements. I noticed recently that quite a few are redesigning their packaging to tout their addition of Lutein, which is purported to be important for overall vision health.

Years ago, I might have scoffed at that, but lately my vision seems to be not quite as good as it used to be - so I may have to start increasing my beta carotene intake!

So its a tradeoff, looks like they're pretty close in nutrients, but cranberries are less sweet than the raisins and have less sodium and slightly higher fiber. If you're somewhat bored with raisins, try cranberries in their place for your favorite recipe. That seems to be what they're pushing on us anyway! But if you don't care for cranberries, these Cranberries are pretty cool too - and no carbs! I haven't listened to them in ages, but since I used the word cranberries at least 15 times in this post, I feel like hearing them again....